Phase Forward and Merck Team Up to Win Society for Clinical Data Management Data Driven Innovation Award

Phase Forward (NASDAQ: PFWD), a leading provider of data management solutions for clinical trials and drug safety, today announced that a joint project with customer Merck & Co. has won the 2009 Society for Clinical Data Management (SCDM) Data Driven Innovation Award competition. This annual honor recognizes the year’s best advancement in clinical data management technology or service.

The award was announced last week at the 2009 SCDM Annual Conference, the industry’s largest education event for clinical data management professionals. The Phase Forward/Merck project was selected from among five industry finalists.

The winning project and new solution, Direct Data Loader, more efficiently loads external data, such as lab safety and biomarker data. As a result, external data can be integrated more rapidly and accurately into Merck’s electronic data capture (EDC) system – Phase Forward’s InForm™ solution.

With Direct Data Loader, the load rate into the InForm system was increased from a maximum 1,000 records per hour with the previous solution, to an estimated 100,000 records per hour. The new solution also improved the "data currency” within InForm trials, especially as related to activities that depend on data reporting, including time-sensitive Serious Adverse Event reporting efforts. Direct Data Loader has proven to be instrumental in eliminating the backlog of unloaded data, preventing future backlog and saving staff time.

"We’re honored to share this award recognizing the creative and collaborative efforts of the Merck/Phase Forward team,” said Bob Weiler, chairman and CEO, Phase Forward. "From its inception, when the team solicited feedback from stakeholders in the process to define the project, through its development and implementation, the team focused on its objectives of delivering a high performance solution while achieving the greatest business benefit possible.”

"SCDM was thrilled with the quantity and quality of entries in the third annual Data Driven Innovation Award,” said Brenda Hoeper, conference co-chair. "We feel privileged to recognize innovations in the CDM discipline that have demonstrated evidence of adding value to the clinical trial process.”

About the Society for Clinical Data Management

The Society for Clinical Data Management is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence in clinical data management through professional development, education and certification. Established in 1994, SCDM has more than 2,600 members with an interest in advancing data management practices. For additional information, please visit www.scdm.org.

About Phase Forward

Phase Forward is a leading provider of integrated data management solutions for clinical trials and drug safety. Phase Forward’s products and services have been utilized in over 10,000 clinical trials involving more than 1,000,000 clinical trial study participants at over 290 organizations and regulatory agencies worldwide including: AstraZeneca, Boston Scientific, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Eli Lilly, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, GlaxoSmithKline, Harvard Clinical Research Institute, Merck Serono, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, PAREXEL International, Procter & Gamble, Quintiles, sanofi-aventis, Schering-Plough Research Institute, Servier, SGS, Tibotec and the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. Additional information about Phase Forward is available at www.phaseforward.com.

Cautionary Statement

Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, the performance and features of Phase Forward’s products and services, demand for Phase Forward’s products and services, future business and operations plans of a Phase Forward customer, and the ability of Phase Forward’s customers to realize benefits from the use of Phase Forward’s products and services. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Phase Forward's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the ability of Phase Forward’s customers to realize benefits from the use of its products and services, the possibility that customers’ needs or plans may change over time, the possibility that the level of demand for Phase Forward’s products and services may vary, regulatory changes and competition. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Phase Forward undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by Phase Forward, see the disclosure contained in Phase Forward's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.